THREE-STEP TRUCKS

The trucks on the hoppers are cast in slippery engineering plastic (see the left truck, above). Though the plastic makes the wheels roll freely, paint and weathering powders don’t adhere to it well. To give the sideframes some tooth, I used a media blaster. I covered the axle sockets with masking tape before spraying the sideframes so the wheelsets would stay free rolling.

After being sprayed with a media blaster, the sideframes are a realistic gray black color with just enough tooth to hold paint and weathering powders. See the second truck from left. I painted the brake shoes with rust-colored paint and applied light rust weathering powder to the spring packs. Black powders or a controlled drop of thin lubricant can be used to represent oil seepage from the journals.

I equipped the trucks with Reboxx .088" metal wheelsets. The narrower treads look better when the hopper is viewed from the end. I painted the wheelsets Grimy Black. Keep the paint off the wheel treads and axle tips.

I followed this up with an application of Testor’s Dullcote. I added a few drops of black to the Dullcote to help blend the lettering into the car sides.

After the Dullcote dried I used a brush to apply Weather All, an alcohol-based wash, to the wood portions of the car exteriors. The alcohol reacted with the Dullcote, causing it to fog up.

Then I used Bragdon Enterprises weathering powders to simulate rust on the metal components. I pulled powders vertically down the carsides. All of this can be seen in ❶, opposite page.

With the weathering completed, I removed the masking tape to expose the fresh paint under the weight and journal repack data ❷. If the car has New weighing data, replace it with a location and date suitable for your modeling era.

Not all self-clearing cars lived up to their name. Coal that hung up in the car while unloading would fall into the hoppers as the car made its way back for another load. I added this residue with a little Elmer’s glue and some loose coal ❸.

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